I'm Matt Schifrin vice president and managing editor of Investing for Forbes Media. I have worked for Forbes for more than 25 years and learned business journalism under Forbes’ late great editor Jim Michaels. For the first 15 years of my career, I wrote mostly investigative features but now I am responsible for investing and finance content in Forbes Magazine and on Forbes.com. I'm also editor in charge of Forbes Newsletter Group and Forbes iConferences and I used to run Forbes Best Of The Web. I won a SABEW award in 2012 and a MIN Best of The Web award in 2009. My book, The Warren Buffetts Next Door, The World's Greatest Investor You've Never Heard Of was published in 2011. I am a graduate of Cornell University.

Guru Round Up: Best Investment Ideas For 2012

After two days of trading, the S&P 500 (SPY) is already up more than 1.5%. Happily, investors are taking a glass half full attitude toward the New Year. Last year was marked by fear and turbulence and a euro crisis that decimated global markets. In the U.S. the big cap, dividend-rich 30 stock Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to produce a total return of 8% while the S&P 500 offered a paltry 2% total return. Emerging markets, long viewed as investor’s heroes, turned out to be portfolio villains. China was down 22%, Brazil was off 18% and India was down nearly 25%.

Most advisors in Forbes’ network– with the exception of perma-bear economist Gary Shilling- -are optimistic about 2012. If you click on the story links below you will find a collection of the best ideas from more than 25 experts.

Shilling, by the way, is still negative on stocks and housing , but thinks there is more juice left in long Treasuries. Last year Treasury bonds were up 29%, out manuevering bond maven Bill Gross, who was selling them early in the year. Shilling thinks the long bond yields will drop as low as 2.5% and the rally in bond prices will continue. The Euro-crisis –and the flight to safety– ain’t over according to Gary.

Turnaround specialist George Putnam is picking beleaguered OfficeMax (OMX) as his top 2012 pick. The stock is down more than 70% in the last 12 months. You can check out why he likes this dirt cheap big box retailer by clicking here.

For those more focused on dividend income and yield, please check out my posting, Best Ideas 2012: Yield Gushers. Among the compelling ideas is Stonemor Partners LLC (STON) from Forbes fixed income expert Richard Lehmann. According to Richard, people are literally dying to get into Stonemor. The company operates cemeteries and funeral homes and is structured as a partnership. Stonemore throws off nearly 11% in current yield.

If you prefer tech stocks, I urge you to check out some of the best ideas from contributors like Jim Oberweis, who specializes in small cap stocks but has an affinity for technology and Nigam Arora of The Arora Report, who is bullish on Red Hat (RHT). Intel (INTC) is currently being recommended by DRIP Investor editor (Dividend Reinvestment Plans) Chuck Carlson for its leading market position and 3% dividend. Of course Carlson is in good company. Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway recently took a notable investment in Intel. A decade ago few would ever have thought Warren Buffett and George Gilder could agree on stocks, but Intel is a shining example. Gilder likes INTC for many of the same reasons Buffett does but also because it does a lot of business in the State of Israel. Click on the link below for all of Gilder’s Holy Land Tech Stock picks.

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